In Their Rightful Place
by InnocentFighter
Summary: (( SPOILERS)) They all had their places. His was at the front of the bridge steering the ship. A brief one-shot about Sulu when Chekov went to engineering.


**Well here we are. A nice little one-shot about the most one of the more surprising scenes in the movie. I thought I'd get this out here and see what you all thought. Everyone takes it differently. So right. Now how about you read my one-shot and I'll see you at the bottom. **

**DISCLAIMER I DO NO OWN ANYTHING **

Hikaru Sulu watched as the replacement navigator filled into the seat next to him. She looked rather unimpressive, he guessed her skills were average. Not that he wanted to sound like that person, but there was a reason the _Enterprise _was already one of the most famous ships in the entire federation, and it wasn't because they were_ average. _He wondered what the Captain was playing at, he got rid of one of the best engineers in the fleet, that was actually active on a ship, and then replaced said engineer with a _navigator, _a genius navigator who had been shadowing the engineer, but that wasn't the point.

It was all wrong. He and the new navigator couldn't work flawlessly together as he could with Pavel. They kept bumping hands and had no idea where the other was but with Pavel they never touched each other unless in jest, they were both good at their jobs and they worked together to much to do something as major as touching each other in the middle of making sure the ship stays on course and flying it. It was something odd, they were both focused and they were constantly moving yet they never got in each others space.

As time progressed he and the navigator were able to work together but there wasn't anything that made the duo outstanding like there was when Pavel sat next to him. They didn't receive any offhanded complements from any of the other officers as he did when the duo was Pavel and Sulu.

It was obvious that Sulu wasn't happy with the arrangements. The Captain could see that but he needed an chief-engineer that he could trust, and he knew Scotty would be royally pissed if he left the ship in anyone's hands that he thought was unworthy of working on her, and capable of making mistakes.

There was still the sense of life missing from the bridge. The Captain and Chekov brought youth and energy onto the ship. The pair was notorious for acting like children, but they were good at their jobs so no one berated them for it. Sulu scowled, though what was wrong with the picture was the Russian wiz-kid wasn't doing _his _job he was doing Scotty's.

When Sulu was told he was going to be acting captain, he forgot himself and went to tell Chekov what happened, but that was before he remembered that his friend was in the engineering deck dealing with a crisis. Sulu was dealing with a crisis as well, but at least he was being ordered instead of being the one ordering, but then again he was the acting captain.

Life got confusing when he didn't have the Russian next to him. There was a time when everything was right with the world, Sulu decided once the captain was back aboard and on the bridge. They all had their places. His was at the front of the bridge steering the ship, Spock's was to stand at the science unit and attempt to guide the captain, the area to the left of the Captain was owned by the always angry Doctor McCoy(he even stood there when the captain was off ship), Uhura's place was by Spock's side or at the communication station, and Scotty's was in the guts of the _Enterprise _making sure everything was running smoothly. There was only something wrong, the place where Chekov was supposed to be was next to Sulu navigating, only he was missing from that spot.

Sulu not for the first time wondered what happened to the captain back when they were on earth. They all knew that Admiral Pike had been killed, so originally Sulu thought that the captain was driven by the need to make sure that John Harrison was brought to justice. But now that the criminal was in the brig there was something else entirely. There was something primal in the Captain that was driving their investigation. Sulu forgot his current dislike of the Captain if only for a moment because he was worried about the younger man.

Only something was up. Chekov hadn't fixed the problem, they were stuck. Sulu couldn't recall when the _Vengeance _appeared. He did remember that they started firing on them and all he could pray for was that the engineering deck not be hit. He was glad when the battle was lagging and all the decks were reporting in their damage report and engineering reported minimal.

Still not having Chekov next to him when the Captain was space jumping checking the trajectory of the captain's flight. He still doubted his navigating partner's skill, he felt uneasy. But when the captain got to the ship with no further problems he was relieved. It was all a blur until it was reported that the Captain was back on the ship and Scotty was with him. Sulu could've cried he was so glad that the real chief -engineer was back.

Still once again he was draw into keeping the_ Enterprise _in the sky. They were being fired at once again, They were falling. All he could think was that maybe the navigator was slightly above average trying to get the ship a course to a semi-safe landing area at the moment the got the slightest control back.

He saw Spock bolt out of the room at top speed and twenty minutes later he heard the report saying that the Captain had perished in the line of duty. Sulu was surprised at all of the guilt he got when he heard that. He hadn't been particularly warm to the captain the past few days. He knew that the captain was only trying to do what was best for the crew. They got the ship in the air and to the safe landing area that the other navigator had found.

It was two weeks later that he got the report that the captain was up and moving, literally. It seemed that the Captain was already driving he CMO mad with his disregard to him almost dying and actually dying.

The ship needed to be repaired and as the Captain hadn't been awake to reinstate Scotty to chief once more. The Scotsman and the Russian were supervising repairs. It took them a year to get the ship operational and then it was a huge ceremony for the day that all of the lives were lost. It was a somber event, and everyone went home with a heavy heart.

The next day they all got alerts to meet the Captain at the academy. Naturally they were worried that they'd have to fight once more, but there was the Captain full of life and moving around something that was so different from a year ago. Doctor McCoy was already there looking unhappier than he normally did.

The moment that all of the bridge crew was assembled the Captain blurted out that they had gotten five year mission and that they were to report in a week aboard the Enterprise. A week came and went and when Sulu walked on the Bridge of the repaired Enterprise he saw a familiar face in the seat next to him.

Pavel was back. That meant Scotty was in engineering. Sulu had to check, and sure enough there was Captain Kirk sitting in his Captain's chair looking like a child at Christmas. The Doctor was next to him, rolling his eyes but smiling in fondness of the Captain. Spoke was over by the science station. Uhura was by him but started making her way to the communication station. Scotty commed the bridge saying that everything was fine and rearing to go. He was in the pilot's seat. When he turned his head he was happy to find that Chekov was in his rightful place. In the navigation seat, next to him. Ready to plot a course in a moments notice. Everything was perfect. Everyone was in their places.

Sulu was all too happy to push the ship into warp drive, the team delving into the unknown. Sure to bring adventure, fun, and comradeship. But with Kirk as their captain it was sure to get weird at times, possibly frightening, and life threatening. But the pilot was sure that as long as everyone was in their place they'd make it thought this five year mission and another. This was a team that would be recorded in the history books and that everyone would know.

**Here we be. We're at the bottom and I thank you for reading this. I wrote it up quickly so I hope you like it. Point out mistakes and whatnots. Well I'm off! Later! ~IF **


End file.
